Vikings Historical Records

Viking Historical Records

History has written that the Vikings started their succession of raids in A.D. 787, when an assembly of men coming from Norway started sailing towards Portland, a city in Dorset. And by A.D. 793, the same group of men attacked the Lindisframe monastery of England.

The Viking raiders continued their ways and they targeted the fine monasteries of the British Isles thrice - once in A.D. 795, then again in A.D. 802, and finally in A.D. 805. And even if the monasteries looked strong, secure, and miles away from any bodies of water, they still fell victims to the Viking's invasion and long ships.

Early into the 9th century however, the raiders start to settle. In A.D. 838, the Vikings began seizing territories like Dublin and eventually established a Norse kingdom right in the heart of Ireland. By A.D. 865, they had a colony in Eastern England, 30 years after their continuous raids of their eastern coast.

In A.D. 866, the Vikings took York, which they eventually renamed as Yorvik, signifying that it was the Viking capital in England. After taking York, they moved on to Wessex. It was in A.D. 870, that they pushed to the city limits and here they faced the strongest opposition to their forces. Eventually, they captured Reading. Wessex soon followed suit.

The year A.D. 871 though, proved to be a year for the English army. England's great leader Alfred had noted victories against the Vikings. He was able to produce British victories against the powerful Vikings, both on land and in water. He regained Wessex and experienced a glorious reign until A.D. 878, when the Vikings started a surprise attack that pushed Alfred west towards the Somerset marshes.

But Alfred was a mighty warrior and he regained his strength after only a few months. He moved east again and faced the Vikings. They fought for two weeks, and Guthrum, a Viking king was successfully taken under siege. At that point, his freedom was granted only after he promised to leave Wessex and be baptized as a Christian.

The fight for English lands continued on until A.D. 885 and to finally stop fighting and start coexistencing, between the Vikings and the English empires, a treaty was made dividing the country. The south and the west were given to the Anglo-Saxons and the north and east was awarded to the Vikings, which they soon called the region of Danelaw.